Improvement in machines for binding grain in bundles



UNITED STATESl PATENT 'C)-Ei:1oE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR BINDING GRAIN'VIN BUNDLES.

S'pela'jealion v[owning pur/ol' .Imi-1ers Puten!- No. 24,400, dalen' Jmu il, 1559.

To ail whom it may concern:

'Be it known that l, JAMEs l). OsnonN, of Constantine, in the county of St. Josephs and State of lllichigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement inv Binding' or Tying Up Grain in Bundles, to be used. in connection With a reaping-machine; and l do hereby declaro the following' to'be a full, clear, and cxact description ofthe construction and operation of the saine, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making' apart oi' this specification, in which Figure lrepresenis, in perspective, the hind ing-box or tahle,thc bottom. and portions ot' the sides of which are represented as cut awa y or removed to better show the mechanism otherwise concealed by these parts. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 1'ep1eseiit detached lirortions, which will be specially referred to.

Similar letters of reference, where used, in

' all cases refer to like parts ofthe machine.

My binding; apparatus is operated autom atically, though the cord is placed partially by an operator or attendant who rides on the' machinc.

The nature of my invention consi: ts mainly in the peculiar kind of knot or interlocking of the cord which forms the tie, said knot or tie being made partially by the attendant, but mainly by the machinery itself.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, .I will proceedv to describe the saine. with reference to the drawings.

A is a binding-box, connected in any suitable manner to a reapinglmachine, into which box the grain to be bound up is brought, either by a conveying belt or apron, or by a rake operated by hand. y

The tying apparatus may be worked from any of the moving power oi.' the reaping-'ma` chine, through shafts and gearing that will rotate the wheel B on its journals, saidhwheel accomplishing the entire automatic motions that gather and hold the bundle and tie the knot. On the wheel B there is formeda portion or segment of a bevel-gear, C, which takes into and operates a segment-wheel, D, on the shaft E, giving the shaft E a partialrotation,

then holding it still for another period, and' then releasingit entirely, so that a stout springe, .which is wound np by its rotation, may return it to its first position again. (')n the rim ofthe wheel "l there is a cam-ledge, l, which comes in contact with au arm, c, on a shaft, F,which lies vbehind and parallel with the slial't E, and gives to said shaft F apartial rotation, and holding vit in its rotated position so long as the arm c rides on said h'fdgre b.. 'lhe turning,lr oi' this shaft F winds up a stout spring, (I-,and when thel arm c reaches the end ofthe ledge, this coiled or wound-np spring inuncdiately returns the. shaft to its first posi tion. The partial rotation,cessation, or rest. and return of these two shafts ll l1`, both of which are actuated by the wheel l, perform or effect the whole antonn'itic process. '.lhere is a curved arm, (ir, on the shalt l1), and another, though larger, one, ll, on the shaft l, both of which arms have the saine movement and rest that their shafts have, being i'ast on them.

Figs. 2, 3 represent portions ol' the tying' de vices, which will be more-fully referred to in describing the whole process of gathering and tying up the bundle.

Fig. 4 represents the forni of lthe knot be fore it is drawn, as also its form after it is drawn up tight.

The attendant has a stand or position in the binding-box, from whence he may readily reach the tying devices.

The operation is asfollows: 'lhe attendant' takes the end of the bindingeord and passes it around the end of thev curved arm. G, as

shown, and then passes the end of the cord under a hinged knife, e, on said arm. This 'turn or half-tnrn ot' the cord around the end of the arm G I shall call, for the sake of illustrating the form of the knot, loop No. 1.

Now, suppose the cord thus united to G, and

that this arm is thrown back by the rotation of its shaft, it draws back with it the cord,

"which mayunwind from a reel placed in any suitable position. The other arm, Il., havingl has not'reached the extent ot' its rearward motion it is immaterial, inasmuch as the turn or half-turnaround the stem f will run or slip so as to give plenty of cord out. This turn around the stem I shall `call loop No. 2. So much haring been done, the cord will lie in the bottom of the binding-box, as shown in Fig. J, and is now ready to receive the grain' that is to be bound, and which falls upon, said cord. rlhe shaft F by this time is released, and its arm H flies over upon the grain, pressin and holding it down, and immediately following it comes the arm G with the cord, its extreme point striking uponthe top of the stem f. Now, this stem f is set upon a coiled spring, It, Figs. 2, 3, and recedes before the blow of the arm Gr, the point 'of said arm following1 it down through the plate g, and thus loop No. 1 is passed through loop No. 2, which latter lies upon the plate g, the stem f having left it. To the stem f, underneath the table g, there is attached an arm i, said arm being connected to a looper-arm, k, by a link, I', so that, as the stem fis forced down by the arm G, it will cause thevpoint m of the looper-arn1 (through a notch or slot in which the bindingcord is caught) to carry its loop (which I shall call No. 3) through loop N o. 1, which had just previously passed through loop No. 2, these three loops, thus passed through each other, forming, when drawn up by the expansion of the grain when released, the knot; In Fig. 4 this will be clearly seen, where loop No. l has passed through loop No. 2, `and loop No. 3 is passed through No. l below No. 2, which, when drawn up, makes an eective and secure knot.

When the point ofthe arm G`passes through the plate g, the curved heel of the knife c strikes against said plate, bringing its cuttingedge down upon the cord and, cuts oft' vthat end of it, and there -is also another knife, n, underneath the plate g, against which the looper-arm 7c brings the cord, and thus cuts oft' that`end. The bundle with the cord around it and its ends tied, and cut away from the main cord, is now ready to be removed, and the moment the two arms G H rise, which held the bundle clampedl between themselves and the bottom of the binding-box, the grain expands and tightens up the knot. The bundle or bundles are then thrown upon a springbottom, or arms o, until the attendant desires to drop them upon the ground, when he simply presses upon them with his foot,'the springv` pose. lIhe only important duty that the attendant mu'st perform is to put the turn or loops around thearm G and the stem f, which .is quickly done, and it is immaterial which of the two has the loop first put upon it,

the cord will pay out to the rising ofthe arm.

There is aguide, r, underneath the plate g, through an eye in which the cord passes before it passes up through said plate. This guide keeps the cord immediately in the path of the looper-arm k.' so that it is certain to catch it. To insure the looper-arm k carrying its loop through loop No. l, guides s are arranged underneath the plate y, between which it must pass, and the loopNo. l stands right across the path of that ot' No. 3, so that it cannot fail. After the bundle is tied up and released, the end of the cord lies on top of the plate y, and the operator can draw it through sufiiciently far--m'ake'a loop and pass it around f--then loopl the end of the cord around G, and the apparat-us is ready for nncthervsimilar operation.

0f course many modifications ofthe devices may be effected to accomplish the same end which I effect, viz: A binding-knot composed of three loops 'passed through'each other and drawn up tight.

I am the rst to use this knot for the purpose and to make it by machinery, and shall' therefore claim such a knot when made by machinery and used t'or tying upgrain in bundles.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A binding-knot composed .of three loops passed through each other, when said passing of the'loops through each other is effected by machinery driven or moved from' any of the moving parts of a harvesting-machine, and whether accomplished by the means herein stated or by their substantial equivalents.

JAMES D. OSBORN.

Witnesses Trios. H. UPPERMAN; E. COHEN. 

